I have several goals for my life. One of them is to get in shape. Another related goal is losing weight. Following that track, I also want to add muscle. OK, these goals may all be the same one – just expressed differently. Part of this goal is for me, but I know that part of it comes from comparing myself to what society expects of us. The perfect body perception, even though I realize I will never have “the perfect body.” The same thing happened in many aspects of my life but right now I am focusing on my body.
As I age, it seems to be harder to get in shape. I tell people I coach that it is easier to stay in shape than to get in shape. Unfortunately, I am trying the latter. You may or may not know this but as we age we lose muscle. How much and how fast can vary from person to person, but by the time you are in your 30’s you will be losing some muscle. One of the down sides of losing muscle is that you metabolism slows down to because muscle burns calories. I can remember going into a martial arts studio in my 30’s, working hard for a couple of weeks, and dropping 10+ pounds. Not only can I no longer work that hard (without hurting myself), but I don’t lose nearly the same amount of weight. Age seems to require more patience to reach the same goals. I need more patience concerning my workouts, I need to pay attention to other aspects of my life toward reaching my goal of losing weight. Those include how much I eat, and most importantly how much I sleep.
How much I eat
I have deeply embedded habits in my eating. I love sugar! I love sweets! I love chocolate! And mostly, I love bread!! Eating those foods makes it more difficult to lose weight. Add to that fact that my parents, children of the Great Depression, liked to prepare meals that came out of our garden. While eating what you grow yourself is popular today, being forced to eat fried green tomatoes, eggplant, and rhubarb didn’t sit well with me. I’m sure these foods are good for you and some people actually like to eat them. Not me. I grew up liking meat and potatoes and it is automatic for me to choose those type of foods in my meal selection.
Another problem is that, like many in my generation, I was raised to eat everything on my plate. Yes, that was important when food was scarce and hard to come by but that’s not the case today. We have more food available to us than we know what to do with. My current challenge is that with a slower metabolism it becomes critical to stop eating when you are full – actually stopping before you are full is better for you.
I am trying, with varied success to eat “better” and smaller meals. I’m not always successful but at least I am trying.
How much I sleep
Supposedly, as we age, we need less sleep. Boy is that wrong! I need as least as much if not more sleep than I did when I was 30 or 40. The trouble is, I am getting less. This is another one of the things I am working hard to correct. I have tried different beds, different schedules, melatonin, cherry juice, and much more. I went in for a sleep study but that was a waste of time. I often get hip sore while sleeping and so I tend to move a lot when I sleep. Sometimes just flopping back and forth. Other times complete rolls on the bed. The first doesn’t work so well for a sleep study. The second one not at all.
OK, being a little tired may not seem so bad – right? Actually, not getting enough sleep is connected to gaining weight, various illnesses including a greater risk for Alzheimer’s. Since my family has a risk of this already, poor sleep isn’t helping anything. For me, sleeping isn’t a luxury – it is a necessity!
My goal is to live to be at least 90, maybe even 100. But not just live a long life. I have seen and been related to people who have lived long lives but weren’t healthy. The quality of their lives was nothing to envy. I want to live a long and healthy life, doing the things that bring me joy. Doing the things I can do to help others. Making a positive impact on both the world and me.
Not sure how this journey is going to turn out, but I intend to continue sharing about it, so stay tuned!